Aurora Chasers

It's day 3 on this epic road trip home (well soon to be home). The first part of our journey was dedicated to the Aurora Borealis AKA Northern Lights. I, being the geek that I am, gave David and myself the name of "Aurora Chasers". We finally finished packing our things, packing them into the car, and left Seward. We headed north and landed for our first night in Talkeetna. We walked around the cute little town for just a bit and then went to my family's lakeside cabin. They were not there, but gave us permission to hike into the property and camp and use firepit. So we did! We parked the subby in the driveway and hiked the mile (yes, their driveway is a mile long!) and began to set up camp. David started the fire using flint (show off!) and made dinner using our camp stove! First nights menu was wild salmon tomato basil camping dish from REI (it actually was really tasty with crackers), but we still hungry so we also had some super yummy tortilla soup! After dinner we got to see two bald eagles soar together right in front of us! It was so amazibg! I set up the tent and sleeping bags and sitting by the fire for a bit headed to bed. I had some bear-anoia (paranoia of bears) for a little bit but changed to wolf-anoia when we heard wolves from the other side of the lake howling at the full moon. Looking back, it was actually super awesome to hear them and were lucky we did! At first I didn't think I'd make it through the night because I was so cold, but after some tears, complaining, and sweet David giving me some of his clothes I managed to dose off for a bit! We woke up, made some tea, and packed up to get back to the car because we are freezing! 

Our car studded with everything we own! 

          Evening walk in Talkeetna! 

Making a fire! 

       Cooking our salmon dinner. 

We spent the next few hours driving north to Fairbanks! It took us a lot longer than expected because of a lot of road construction, but we made it none the less. After wandering around town for a bit we tried to devise a game plan on where to go and how to see the northern lights. We had originally planned to camp outside the city (because you can better see the auroras outside the lights of the city). However, when we arrived in Fairbanks, it was just over 30 degrees. I had a breakdown...I froze the night before in 40 degrees and I really didnt think I could make it in 30 degree weather...even if we were car camping. So after some patience by David as I freaked out, we found ourselves heading out to Chene Hot Spring, about 50 miles outside of Fairbanks. We got a little dry cabin to stay in to keep us warm and decided to go for a soak in the hot springs. 

Turns out soaking in hot springs was EXACTLY what we needed. I stayed in for about 2 hours letting the hot water melt away any worries. It felt so good on my soar muscles and helped me relax a bit! We headed back to the cabin, brushed our teeth and got ready for bed. As I was settin my alarm to get up during a few times during the night to look for the northern lights, David runs in and says "come here!". I throw my shoes on and my sweater and ran outside! 

BOOM! There they were! To the north, over a mountain gleaming a faint green. They started off small but began to move a little across the sky. We jumped in the car to drive to a better viewing point. Once we found one, we got out of the. At a d just stood in awe. I stood there thinking that I couldn't believe I finally was seeing them! There they were dancing in th mountain. I almost imagined them as the moved like a slow rolling wave that it was Alaska's way of waving good-bye to me and giving me a blessing for the road trip ahead. I was so full of happiness as they became dim and we drove back to our cabin. 

We were SO lucky to have seen them last night! We had a number of factors against us, overcast forecast, full moon, and tree coverage. But we got to see them despite all that and that's all I could ask for!! It was the cherry on top of all my Alaskan experiences, full of magic and beauty!

Cabin owners dog we played with for a bit this morning! 

We are currently on the Great Alaskan Hwy (AlCan) heading for the Canadian border. As we drive, we are getting sprinkles of snow mixed with sunshine. All the trees are in full fall beauty, radiating beautiful oranges, yellows, greens and reds! 

I'm havig a great time (especially after sleeping in a warm cabin which I am so extremely grateful for!) and our next big stop is Jasper where we hope to meet up with our friend Carl! 

Mom & all those beautiful people who worry about me- we're driving safe, have plenty of gas, etc. ;)

P.S-sorry for any typos or grammar errors, this post was written from my small iPhone! :) 

Til next time! 

Lots of love!

Jillian